Game and Time: No. 2 North Carolina at N.C. State. Tipoff is at 8 p.m.
Site: RBC Center.
TV/Radio: The game will be televised by Raycom/Jefferson Pilot. The Tar Heel Sports Network will provide radio coverage; the broadcast will air on 100.7 FM and WCHL-AM 1360.
Records: North Carolina is 22-3, 10-2 in the ACC. N.C. State is 15-10, 5-7 in the ACC.
Series: North Carolina leads 131-74.
Probable Starters:
North Carolina
G: Raymond Felton, 6-1 JR
G: Rashad McCants, 6-4 JR
F: Jackie Manuel, 6-5 SR
F: Jawad Williams, 6-9 SR
C: Sean May, 6-9 JR
N.C. State
G: Engin Atsur, 6-3 SO
G: Tony Bethel, 6-2 JR
F: Julius Hodge, 6-7 SR
F: Ilian Evtimov, 6-7 JR
C: Jordan Collins, 6-10, SR
The Key Matchup: N.C. State’s Jordan Collins and Ilian Evtimov against North Carolina’s Sean May.
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May has been the best Tar Heel — and maybe the best player in the ACC — during the last few weeks, recording double-doubles in four straight games.
He hasn’t been barely reaching double digits either — in those four games, he averaged 17 points and 15 rebounds.
May almost matched those numbers when North Carolina beat the Wolfpack by 24 in the Smith Center three weeks ago, as he had 16 points and 14 boards. May and Marvin Williams, who posted a career-high 20 points in that game, wreaked havoc in the post as the Wolfpack had a tough time keeping up with the Tar Heels’ speed.
If Collins — who needed just seven minutes to foul out in the previous meeting — and Evtimov can’t handle May, the ’Pack will be looking at another blowout.
Final Analysis/Prediction: N.C. State was pretty much left for dead after losing to the Tar Heels and then dropping its next two ACC games after that.
But the Wolfpack has crawled back into the NCAA Tournament picture with wins at Georgia Tech and versus Maryland.
At the very least, N.C. State needs to get to 8-8 in conference to even think about going to the tournament. A win against the Tar Heels would move them closer to the .500 mark and serve as a nice line on a resume that is relatively devoid of any big victories.
But after Duke upended Wake Forest on Sunday, North Carolina now is in position to win the ACC outright and to claim a likely top seed in both the conference and NCAA Tournaments, so the Tar Heels have something tangible to play for as well.
UNC proved in the Smith Center that it was a faster, more athletic team than N.C. State. Look for the Tar Heels to show that where the teams play doesn’t matter.
The Bottom Line: North Carolina 82, N.C. State 69.
— Compiled by Daniel Blank
